Golden Bears start fast, hold off Halls

By Ken Lay
Things started well for the Vine Middle School boys basketball team Tuesday night. But the Golden Bears got a little sloppy after halftime.
Although its victory at Halls was never really in doubt, coach Jadrius Suber had plenty of reason to be concerned after watching his Golden Bears notch a 38-25 victory over the Red Devils.
“This was Game 2 for us and we only have one goal, and that’s the state tournament,” Suber said. “We’ve just got to learn how to finish.
“We were coming off a big win (against Northwest on Monday, Oct 28). We won, 68-6, so this kind of game was bound to happen. I guess it’s better that it happen in October than in February.”
Scoring was at a premium in the first quarter but the Golden Bears (2-0) and Red Devils (2-2) were locked in a defensive struggle. But Vine manufactured just enough offense to open a 7-3 lead at the end of the opening frame.
The second stanza, however, was a different story. Halls turned the ball over and Vine capitalized on the Red Devils’ miscues. The Golden Bears had the upper hand, leading 17-5, when Vine’s Ky King made two steals and converted a pair of layups to make the score 21-5 at halftime.
The second half began inauspiciously for Halls as the Red Devils had to call timeout before the third quarter started. But Halls doubled its offensive output from the first half, scoring 10 points in the third quarter. Vine, however, still managed to increase its advantage, outscoring Halls, 13-10, in the quarter and opening a 34-15 advantage.
But Halls used a modest crest of momentum to narrow the margin early. The Red Devils opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run to pull to within, 36-23.
The Halls defense surrendered just four points over the final six minutes and that effort, though it came up a little short, gave Red Devils’ coach Jeremy Fine reason for optimism.
“I was really proud of the way we played in the second half,” Fine said. “I challenged our guys at halftime and they responded. They took ownership and they played with toughness.
“So I was really proud of the second half and I’m interested to see what happens when we start conference play (this) week.”
Suber obviously saw things unfold a bit differently after halftime.
“We were ahead 21-5 at halftime and we gave up 20 points in the second half and we scored four points in the fourth quarter,” he said. “If that had been a really good team we were playing, things might have turned out a little different.
“These guys have all been together since the sixth grade, so I tried to let them figure it out.”
Despite winning handily, Vine didn’t have anybody post double figures in the scoring column.
Jahmir Kimbrough and Marcus Webb led the way for the Golden Bears with nine points each, while William Dixon added eight.
Halls’ Roman Dunn led all scorers with 11 points. He scored nine in the second half. Easton Starnes finished with nine points, including six after halftime.
Lady Devils rout Vine: Halls captured a 43-7 victory over the Lady Bears in the girls game Tuesday.